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I struggled to maintain my identities while in academic settings because i am a multicultural person yet we live in a society that only recognizes the white ethnicity of me. Growing up in a predominantly white town  there was a lot of Anti- blackness. the Blackness ,and native in me would be the reason i would fall into the criminal justice system, but the whiteness.... thats how i would succeed.

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I struggled to maintain my identities while in academic settings because i am a multicultural person yet we live in a society that only recognizes the white ethnicity of me. Growing up in a predominantly white town  there was a lot of Anti- blackness. the Blackness ,and native in me would be the reason i would fall into the criminal justice system, but the whiteness.... thats how i would succeed.

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I've actually had teachers through my whole elementary school years who were the same racial group as me. I always thought it was just the way it was. I always liked them because they spoke Chinese to parents who didn't speak English which I always liked. It wasn't until middle school that I had more diverse teachers.

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I've actually had teachers through my whole elementary school years who were the same racial group as me. I always thought it was just the way it was. I always liked them because they spoke Chinese to parents who didn't speak English which I always liked. It wasn't until middle school that I had more diverse teachers.

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experiences of hearing people telling other Latinos to "speak Spanish" while they overheard a conversations between two Latinos.

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Growing up around a diverse group or people I become hyperaware of how different life was for the POC community vs the white community. I wanted to be white so my life could be easier and I could be "smart" because they were the ones getting good grades and tutoring afterschools etc.

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I've never had a teacher that was from the same racial/ethnic group as myself. It felt interesting and a bit upsetting at the same time. 

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I've never had a teacher that was from the same racial/ethnic group as myself. It felt interesting and a bit upsetting at the same time. 

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I've been really fortunate to have had some amazing big homies, but most all of those folks came into my life in grad school. For K-12 and throughout my undergrad career, I really had no deeper cultural connection with my teachers and often felt like school was not going to be a place for me.

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Me when teachers pronounce my last name as "Antena" instead of "AnTUnez"

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The reading about Americanization remined me of the times I've had to assimilate to learning English and how I had to "be proficient enough" to be good enough to be "good student"

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The reading about Americanization remined me of the times I've had to assimilate to learning English and how I had to "be proficient enough" to be good enough to be "good student"

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The first time I had a teacher role model that was the same racial/ethnic group as myself was not until college. I worked closely with this professor since I was her TA for a Sociology class. Not only was I able to connect to her when she told us stories about herself, but I was able to look up to her and it felt nice to relate to a teacher of color. She was also so down to do my letter of rec. for grad school, which was so dope of her!

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The first time I had a teacher role model that was the same racial/ethnic group as myself was not until college. I worked closely with this professor since I was her TA for a Sociology class. Not only was I able to connect to her when she told us stories about herself, but I was able to look up to her and it felt nice to relate to a teacher of color. She was also so down to do my letter of rec. for grad school, which was so dope of her!

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I remember also being told in school by teachers that I could not speak Spanish in class with my peers. When I first came to the US it was difficult to settle in, learn a new language, and also try to assimilate to a new culture. Teachers and administrators have so much opportunity to positively influence and support immigrant students, but instead they were racist and unsupportive. They pushed students out of school and ensured they created a toxic and unhealthy place to be. Like Carla mentions, finding someone to advocate for you is so important for groups that are excluded. This mentorship provides support and community, and encourages students to stay in school.